Bilic impressed by Spain

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said that he had been impressed by the way Spain beat Turkey in their friendly match ahead of Euro 2016. He stated that the Spanish players are so good technically and that they are at ease when playing between the lines. He said that this makes it difficult to defend for the opposing players.

He said that the Spanish players deserve credit for being able to play between the lines. He said that if you want to stop them, you should not give them so much time on the ball but this is easier said that done. He believes that the player has a natural ability to keep the ball and to create openings. For him, you cannot afford to give so much time to players such as David Silva and Andres Iniesta. Sooner or later, they will find an opening and will create chances for their teammates.

Slaven Bilic has also been critical of the way Turkey defended against Spain. Although he admitted that Spain was much better than their opponent on that day, he believes that the Turkish side should have done better. He said that they were awful with their defending and that they gave the Spanish players too much time on the ball. He said that Turkey did not press enough and gave Iniesta all the time in the world to play his pass.

For Bilic, it is good to put all your players behind the ball when you are playing against a better team, but he believes that there should be a fair amount of pressing as well. However this was not present in the game against Spain, and he believes that Turkey was fortunate to have conceded only three goals.